Labor groups protest T-Mobile closure

Lehigh Valley labor groups protested Friday outside a T-Mobile call center that is closing as part of a nationwide consolidation that eliminated more than 600 local jobs.

Announced in March, the closure has become fodder for union and Democrat Party calls for protection of U.S. call center jobs from offshoring.

The employees are "just despondent and don't know what to do," said Pam Tronsor, an organizer with the Communication Workers of America who was demonstrating outside the call center Friday. "There are no jobs."

T-Mobile in March announced it was closing seven of its 24 call centers in the country, including one on Roble Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. T-Mobile also is closing call centers in Florida, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Oregon. Those in closing call centers were encouraged to apply for jobs in other states, though the company eliminated a total of 1,900 jobs in the consolidation.

About 20 percent of those working in T-Mobile call centers that closed, including 70 who worked in Hanover Township, have accepted other positions with the company, spokesman Juan Cornejo said. Others have received outplacement and career support services, he said.

The Communication Workers of America maintains T-Mobile sent American call center jobs to Honduras, the Philippines and other countries to save money. The union in April requested that the U.S. Department of Labor grant Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits to T-Mobile employees who lost their jobs. Such benefits help workers train for other careers when they lose work as a result of foreign trade.

T-Mobile has disputed that any of the jobs eliminated were sent overseas. But union and former T-Mobile employees have their doubts since U.S. call center workers trained representatives in other countries.

A technical support representative at the Hanover call center for six years, Barry Lagler Jr., 28, of New Tripoli, said he noticed call volume dropping at the center in the fall, and more calls were being transferred to them from overseas operations when customers were frustrated with language barriers.

Lagler said he supports federal legislation that would discourage companies from sending U.S. call center jobs overseas. U.S. Rep. Timothy Bishop, D-N.Y., introduced such a bill — the "U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act" — which would make companies that offshore call-center jobs ineligible for federal grants and loans.

"It should hit companies in the pocketbook to do so much offshoring," Lagler said.